Buying 2003 Pro5...need some input/advice.

S

SCH8706

Member
:
2003 Mazda Protege5
What up?! So in a few days I will be purchasing a good friend's 2003 Protege5. I'm just looking for some helping input/advice on the car and its mods/mileage/condition/etc.

Here's what I know about the car so far:

2003 Mazda Protege5
-Almost 80k miles (Given the mileage, what maintenance/tune-up would yall suggest I do after purchasing the car?)
-Manual Trans
-Black Leather
-Sunroof
-Megan Cat-Back Exhaust System (Give me some feedback on this exhaust guys, it seems to sound alright. Does it hold up pretty good?)
-Head gasket recently replaced
-Has the chrome rims but the chrome is peeling so I'll probably re-paint them BLAAACK (nana)

My buddy says the only thing the car really needs is new tires pretty soon.
He has owned this car since 2005ish. As you can tell by the mileage he doesn't drive it a lot (or at least very far). He works a mile from his house, so the mileage has primarily been slow/short trips to work or the store.

So.... What yall think?

**I tried attaching some pics but the forum wasn't having it, kept erroring out**
 
coil packs are an issue with these cars just be warned. check the plugs and wires. look for any fluid leaks but seeing as they just did the head gasket it should be leak free (if they did a thorough job checking it over while working) megan exhausts are great and hold up. had one on an old car i had it was great. the manual transmission is a big plus on these cars. check for leaking window/sunroof seals. check that all the motors for these work as well. check all of everything you would normally check on a used car. these cars are reliable, mine has 160,000 miles and never had any major issues, just little things. and maintenance. never left me stranded.
 
^All good advice.

Usually when doing a head gasket most folks will replace the timing belt. But if for whatever reason they didn't, you'll want to change that. Mazda recommends changing them every 100k. These aren't interference engines, so if it breaks it will only leave you stranded, not trash your valves.

Get a coil pack or two and keep them in the car with a 10mm wrench.
 
MrGiggles said:
^All good advice.

Usually when doing a head gasket most folks will replace the timing belt. But if for whatever reason they didn't, you'll want to change that. Mazda recommends changing them every 100k. These aren't interference engines, so if it breaks it will only leave you stranded, not trash your valves.

Get a coil pack or two and keep them in the car with a 10mm wrench.
Click to expand...

^^^
forgot about timing belt. if its been up north check for rust
 
Man that is some low mileage. Nice that it is a good friend you are buying it from. Post up some pics so we can take a look at it.
 
just drive the piss out of 'er til it gives you issues, then fix em. its just a protege, they aren't difficult or expensive to fix unless you get hosed by a mechanic. and being in the south you likely don't have to deal with the typical rust these cars suffer from.

nice exhaust! megan is good and pretty rare.
 
Put Seafoam in it,... flush out the crap,... then drive the piss out of 'er,... that'll postpone your rebuild.
 
Found out the spark plugs were just changed out about 10k ago. So its looking like all it'll need is some new tires before long. I'll also look into a new timing belt and getting a couple coil packs to keep handy. My buddy said he hasn't had any problems with the coil packs so far.

The car should be mine soon, its a unique situation... I'm selling my 2013 KIA Sportage to eliminate the car payment and my buddy wants a truck and is buying a brand new F-150, so as soon as my KIA is gone and he has his new truck the Mazda transaction will go down. I can't wait to get it. He said he'd sale it to me for $3,500.... which seems like a wonderful deal considering the car is in great shape with low mileage.
 
i would go ahead and do the timing belt and water pump. its 13 years old with 80k on it granted 105k is service interval for belt but being that its rubber and over a decade old just go ahead and do it
 
I just picked up an 03 as well. ~118k miles. Looks at front end stuff. Just more wear over the years than miles put on it. Sway bar bushings, end links. Lower control arm (mine was actually bushings on these, but mine as well do the whole thing with new ball joints), outter tie rods. My front left wheel bearing was going bad, but went ahead and took care of both sides. If wheel bearings need done, remember to get wheel seals and use high temp RTV to block the drain hole/slit. There's a thread on that, but apparently the wheel bearings on these do not have seals and have a drain hole for water. There should never be any water in there in the first place, so it was poorly designed.

Good luck, it's been a fun little car. Although I've had to put more money then I wanted into this, it's been a blast.

-D
 
*Update*..... Sold my KIA, now waiting on my buddy to get his truck. He ordered it a week ago so realistically the Protege purchase is looking like it'll take place within the next 2 weeks.

NOW.... for my next question for you guys. WHEELS!? (Im kinda getting ahead of myself here but.... i don't care... it makes for good convo).
Here's my situation, the stock wheels are the 16" chrome wheels but the chrome is peeling and looks terrible. Sooo....

Option #1: Re-finish the wheels, after much thought I would probably re-paint them some shade of silver just to keep that clean stock look.

Option #2: I have an old set of Drag34 Gunmetal Grey Wheels 17x7.5 Offset 45 that I had on my 2007 Mazda3 I used to own.

Here's a pic of my old Mazda3:



So there are my options....honestly I'm leaning toward the Drag Wheels, seems like I can pick up a set of 205/50/17's for a reasonable price. However, is that the size tire y'all would go with? Anyone out there running a similar set up? Also, do yall think having the 17x7.5's on there will severely hurt my mpg?

On the other hand though, I will be using this car to get to work each day which is a 110 mile round trip (granted I car pool so I only actually drive to work 2-3 times a week) but... fuel efficiency is important and I imagine with the stockers and some 195/50/16 or 205/50/16 tires I could get optimal mpg.


SO... give me your honest opinion guys.
 
After some looking around I see that if I plan to run the 17x7.5's then a 205/40/17 tire is highly suggested.
 
Here are a few more pics of the Protege:

The flaking wheel (notcool)

Tint needs re-done...

Interior actually looks fantastic all throughout... so thats a major plus.

WOM..OM...OMMM..OMMM.OOOMMMM....... RAAAHHHH..RAHHHHHHHH (thumb)

Good clean pic....
 
SCH8706 said:
*Update*..... Sold my KIA, now waiting on my buddy to get his truck. He ordered it a week ago so realistically the Protege purchase is looking like it'll take place within the next 2 weeks.

NOW.... for my next question for you guys. WHEELS!? (Im kinda getting ahead of myself here but.... i don't care... it makes for good convo).
Here's my situation, the stock wheels are the 16" chrome wheels but the chrome is peeling and looks terrible. Sooo....

Option #1: Re-finish the wheels, after much thought I would probably re-paint them some shade of silver just to keep that clean stock look.

Option #2: I have an old set of Drag34 Gunmetal Grey Wheels 17x7.5 Offset 45 that I had on my 2007 Mazda3 I used to own.

Here's a pic of my old Mazda3:



So there are my options....honestly I'm leaning toward the Drag Wheels, seems like I can pick up a set of 205/50/17's for a reasonable price. However, is that the size tire y'all would go with? Anyone out there running a similar set up? Also, do yall think having the 17x7.5's on there will severely hurt my mpg?

On the other hand though, I will be using this car to get to work each day which is a 110 mile round trip (granted I car pool so I only actually drive to work 2-3 times a week) but... fuel efficiency is important and I imagine with the stockers and some 195/50/16 or 205/50/16 tires I could get optimal mpg.


SO... give me your honest opinion guys.
Click to expand...

Just for a comparison, I changed from a 205-55/16 to a 225-40/18 on my Camry and lost about 1mpg in the city. No difference on the highway. It's just a hair more rolling resistance, and I can still average 28mpg in the summer.

These cars are really high geared and spin at high RPM on the highway. Larger tires will lessen that, and theoretically net you higher MPG. But I've not seen that tested and verified in the real world.

How are the roads in your area? A 205-40 doesn't have much sidewall.. A good pothole will likely bend the wheel.
 
The roads down here are good. i dont deal with ice/snow either unless the weather loses its mind and sends some down here.
 
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